Q&A: Flames’ Treliving believes there is much to be determined before trade deadline

LAS VEGAS – With his club on the ropes and the trade deadline looming, Brad Treliving felt it was time to have a heart-to-heart with his team.

“I tend to go down before the deadline and give them what I see,” said the Calgary Flames GM before Thursday’s crushing overtime loss to the Golden Knights.

“My message really was, ‘we are where we are, and I believe in the group.

“’You can spend a lot of energy rehashing what happened the first 50-some games, but it’s like carrying a real heavy rock in your back pocket.

“’But if you look at it like we have 20-something games to go and if you finish strong nobody is going to give a crap about what happened the first 50-something games.

“’But time is of the essence. 

“’Forget about all the noise around. All we have to do is commit to each other to be our very best, and if we do we are a very good team.’”

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As part of a wide-ranging Q & A in which the GM discussed his trade deadline thoughts, his goaltenders’ struggles, the progress of Jakob Pelletier, and the Oliver Kylington situation amongst other things, Treliving said there’s still plenty to be determined before the Mar. 3 deadline.

“I told them, ‘I’d like to help this group, but put yourself in my shoes,’” said Treliving, whose club is three points behind Minnesota for the final wild card berth.

“I’m always very honest with the guys and feel like I have a good relationship with the players.

“The good news is, if we were sitting in this spot and everyone is having career years, and we’re pedal down, it would be a different story.

“But we’re in the mix and we’re not maxed out.”

Sportsnet: In terms of possible trades before the deadline, is it fair to assume you’re still waiting for your team’s play to help guide your course of action? 

Brad Treliving: Ya, you’ve got to be careful. 

It’s great to get stuff done early, but the reality is, look at the prices. There’ve been really good players on the move, but for the most part it’s a rental market and when you’re solidly in a spot it’s easier to do that.

I’m not going to start throwing out top assets. I think we’re a good team that has underperformed.

We’ve done all our work on the deadline, we have a sense of what’s going on out there.

When you get to the time of year you’ve played 50-plus games, you kind of know where your team is at. 

It’s not like things are going to change dramatically the next two games. 

You just want to see what kind of spot you’re in and if the areas we know we need to be better in are improving.

We’ve got enough here to get in with the group we have, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.

At the end of the day if we can help ourselves, of course I’d like to do that.

But reality is also part of the equation.

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SN: You haven’t been close to pulling the trigger on anything?

BT: That would be fair. There are things that are out there, but there’s nothing that has made sense for us.

Everybody is always focused on buying or selling, but you may stand pat.

Where we’re at now, you’ve got to be careful putting first and second round picks for UFAs, in my opinion.

We have a pretty good sense of where all the teams are at. It’s tight.

There’s a muck of teams in the middle.

SN: Is it possible you could be a seller?

BT: You don’t just move players for the sake of moving them.

We don’t have expiring contracts that are going to return massive assets.

We’re having conversations on all kinds of stuff.

At the end of the day you’d always like to help the team, but the team has got to be in a position where you can help them.

SN: How does the injury to Michael Stone factor into possible trade activity?

BT: A little bit, with your depth. Dennis (Gilbert) has come in and played well, and we have Connor (Mackey). We’ve got some depth on the blue line.

You’re going to have injuries – we’re hoping it’s not going to be too long with Mike.

SN: How would you describe the Mackey situation?

BT: It’s just been tough. Tough on him. Sometimes these things happen. Can’t credit the kid enough – he comes in and works, and puts in his time, but he’s like everyone else, he wants to play.

It’s been a tough go for him, but all he can do is keep working. All it takes is an injury and you’ve got to be ready to go.

SN: How frustrating has this season been for you, as it appeared last summer you’d put some pretty good pieces in place?

BT: I don’t do autopsies 57 games in – that’s for the end of the year.

We talked with the group the other day and my message to them was we’ve got a good group here and we can’t get dragged down by what’s happened prior to today.

Let’s start fresh.

There’s a lot to like about our game, but at this time of year you need to get results.

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SN: What are you seeing from Jakob Pelletier?

BT: What’s underrated about him, from the outside, is he’s a smart player. 

It’s not all the offensive stuff. In our end, and along the wall, he makes subtle plays.

He’s got poise with the puck. 

We’ve tried to bring him along slowly.

He had a lot to learn in the AHL and he’s done a hell of a job, and was ready for an opportunity. And now he has bounced up the lineup.

But then, you need results, and he’s getting them and we’re seeing some chemistry.

He’s playing against top lines, so I’m really happy with his play, his energy.

He’s a loud guy and he’s brought some juice to the team.

SN: How would you describe your goaltending this year?

BT: It’s been up and down, right? 

But again, we all know how important the position is and we know we’ve got two really good goaltenders.

So now you’re trying just to help guys find their way. 

And that’s what I said to everybody – forget what’s happened for 50-some games. 

Easy to say.

Marky (Jacob Markstrom) cares a great deal. He’s a competitive guy and he wants nothing more than to do good.

I’ve always found top guys eventually find their way and we’re going to need both guys.

SN: Is it starting to look like it’s too late for Oliver Kylington to come back and join the club this year?

BT: We’ll see. I mean, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know the more you miss…

There’s no finality to it, but it’s fair to say with every day that goes off the calendar…if you’re jumping in the last 20 games its hard.

We just continue to hope for the best for him.

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